Reproductive Politics in Popular Culture

Reproductive politics is connected to the usage of representational politics, because one of the ways reproductive politics is displayed is through popular culture. This can be displayed through films, magazines, and newspapers, among other forms of media. Popular culture is recognized as images, ideas and perspectives that are part of the culture that began in the early to mid 20th century. It is often associated with Western culture.

Introduction

Reproductive Politics

Reproductive politics as defined by historian Rickie Solinger is the question of “who has the power over matters of pregnancy and its consequences?” This can include issues such as contraceptives, abortions and infertility. There are large debates surrounding reproductive politics, most notable is the argument of the right to an abortion, with primarily two stances, which are pro-life (against abortion) or pro-choice (for abortion).

Representational Politics

Representational politics is meanings that are transferred to individuals through a form of representation. In this case, representational politics are transferred to individuals through popular culture in various forms of media. These representations can be fictitious or non fictitious. However, these meanings are fluid and individuals constantly change them, therefore it is crucial to fully understand and question the meanings portrayed through popular culture.

Examples

Contraception Represented in Magazines

Many magazines geared towards women, such as health and lifestyle magazines, feature segments about contraception and sex. These are non-fictitious representations of reproductive politics. Magazines such as Cosmopolitan often feature pages about different forms of contraception. However, features like this in a magazine that is readily available to women of all ages can be problematic. This type of representational politics can be problematic because of the large audience it can reach, and the validity of the information presented in a non-medical publication. Although these features can provide useful information, information may be misperceived and information such as contraception should always be thoroughly discussed with the help of a medical professional. As described in Nicole R. Lock’s article, "Many of the Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health ads were dedicated to discussing and helping readers navigate through the many known, debated, and obvious side effects." As well, since meanings transferred to individuals through popular culture as a form of representational politics is often not thoroughly interrogated and changes very often, popular culture may not be the best form of representation to inform on medical advice.

Birth Control Pills
Cosmopolitan logo

Pregnancy represented in Film/ TV

Film as a form of popular culture has represented reproductive politics in a fictitious form. Many storylines feature adolescent females, who get pregnant unexpectedly and are faced with the decision of whether they want to keep the baby, have an abortion or give it up for adoption. The film, Juno, demonstrates the story of a young female adolescent who gets pregnant and faces this type of decision. This type of popular culture, demonstrates the topic of “right to choose”, and how choices have evolved. As well, it expands the discussion instead of just focusing on pro-life or pro-choice decisions. For example, Juno ultimately decides on giving the baby up for adoption. In addition to film, TV as a form of popular culture has represented reproductive politics in a non-fictitious form, featuring shows such as “16 and Pregnant” and their follow up show “Teen Mom” both on MTV. These shows follow adolescent females and how they navigate their lives through teen pregnancy, and life afterwards. The two shows have been received by the audience in two different perspectives. One is that it “glamourizes teen pregnancy” and the other is that it truly shows the struggles of teen pregnancy and should therefore promote safe sex.

Anti-teenage pregnancy III
MTV Logo 2010

Media portrayal of fertility and infertility

In popular culture, many sources of media such as magazines, film and television assume that all fertile women of childbearing age want children. This is a notion that has been 'normalized'. Exemplified by Knobloch-Westerwick et al., media displays women as having different social roles, and the mother/homemaker role is one of them. However more recently, individuals have tried to express that women have many other fulfilling and noteworthy achievements in their lives, beside childbearing. Many popular culture lifestyle magazines feature information and charts on when the best time to conceive a child is, and topics such as how to balance a career and motherhood. There has been a lot of research and discussion on the notion of women being able to "have it all", meaning being able to have a successful career and raising children simultaneously. In addition, for women, who are infertile (unable to get pregnant due to various reasons), they are inundated with information and possibilities for how to get pregnant via other methods, such as in vintro fertilization (IVF). Pregnancy loss is a topic that is not often covered in various forms of media.

Gravid - pregnant woman
2902 IVF-02

Links to Noteworthy Information

Sexuality, Contraception and The Media

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/126/3/576

Reproductive Health and Pop Culture

http://www.radioproject.org/2014/09/healthy-messages-reproductive-health-and-pop-culture/

Teen Pregnancy

Pregnancy and The Mother

A poem by Audre Lorde about the bond between a mother and her child http://ghpoetryplace.blogspot.ca/2011/06/now-that-i-am-forever-with-child.html

Women and Having It All

References

Knobloch-Westerwick, Silvia., Laura E. Willis & Ashley R. Kennard (2016) Media Impacts on Women’s Fertility Desires: A Prolonged Exposure Experiment, Journal of Health Communication, 21:6, 647-657, DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2016.1153757
Latimer, Heather. "Popular culture and Reproductive Politics: Juno, Knocked Up and the Enduring Legacy of The Handmaid's Tale." Feminist Theory 10 (2009): 211-226. Web.
Lock, R. Nicole. (2015). Framing and normalizing hormonal contraception in men's and women's magazines: An ecofeminist analysis (Order No. 1596330). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. (1710372555).